


Under the Twin Suns

by aionimica



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-10
Updated: 2016-04-10
Packaged: 2018-06-01 12:41:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6520159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aionimica/pseuds/aionimica
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two ships crash onto a desert planet out on the fringes of the galaxy.<br/>Two pilots struggle to survive.<br/>But to make it through the sands of Tatooine, it will take more than strength in the Force to keep them alive. </p><p>little one shot prompted by a lovely anonymous tumblr user</p>
            </blockquote>





	Under the Twin Suns

Sand. 

That’s all she could see. For miles upon miles, from one horizon to the other, all Rey could see was sand.

At first she thought she was on Jakku: when she climbed out of the escape pod and saw the desolate landscape and felt the hot sand on her palms the first thought that went through her mind was  _ Not again _ and despair ran to her toes.

Staggering to her feet she squinted in the bright light and sighed. Well, she’s been to and through Jakku before, she can get through it again. Reaching back into the escape pod, she grabbed her emergency pack and slung it over her shoulder, checking that her lightsaber was at her side.

She climbed up the dunes. There was a rocky crag to the north, an old ravine to the south and just endless sand in between. Well one of those would provide shelter and maybe water. If she was lucky maybe she would run into a scavenging party and she could barter a lift to an outpost. Jakku was barren, but it wasn’t empty - not if you knew where to look. And no one knew Jakku better than Rey.

Tripping she fell into the sound with a grunt. Sand scratched her face and tears burned in her eyes. She had to get to the cliffs, that’s all the had to do before sunset - she had to get to cover. Jakku was dangerous under the sun and downright deadly under the moon.

Steadying herself on the shifting sands she blinked in the bright light and looked at the shifting color on her feet. With a hard thud she fell back into the sand, her mouth wide open. Two shadows. She had two shadows. Quickly she turned around, shielding her eyes. 

Two suns. 

This planet had two suns.

Dazed she fell back into the sand, her breath escaping her. “Where the hell am I?”

* * *

 

 

When Kylo Ren came around his head hurt. 

Granted his head always hurt nowadays - a long drawn out ache that rested at the base of his head. The scar that marred his face hardly pained him any more, but the split that rang through his skull pounded in his ears to no relief. 

Something warm and wet dripped down his face. A hand wiped it away - blood? It was red and dark on the sand. His blood?

Closing his eyes he lay his head back down. His lips were salty. Yes his blood. One more round of scars to add to the collection. Now just to figure out where he was. There was sand - a lot of sand and -

He swallowed, the back of his throat dry as he caught sight of the setting suns above the dunes. “Tatooine,” he said weakly.

Of all the places to be shot down, it had to be on this dust bowl. There was nothing to be seen for miles and if his memory was correct, then there wasn’t anything out there either. What had Uncle Luke-  _ Skywalker  _ said once when he asked to visit?  _ You’re not missing much _ , the older Jedi said with a bitter look in his eye. Kylo wiped the sand from his face. He was getting his wish now. 

He fumbled with the straps on his flight suit, pulling away from the ejection seat. Thankfully his lightsaber was still strapped to his side, his hand repeatedly tapping the metal.

Why was he on Tatooine? Kylo rubbed his face with a gloved hand as he started across the sands. Last he remembered he doing a quick tour of the Outer Rim when his ship was pulled from hyperspace, but his nav charts didn’t mention anything about a binary system or being near Tatooine. And then - 

He rubbed his head. And then he woke up in the sand underneath two burning suns on a planet that was once described as “existing.” Narrowing his eyes he made out some cliffs on the horizon. How long did he have before sunset? His two shadows lengthened before him as he staggered across the sands. Behind him, a lonely aching roar carried across the desolate landscape. His hands started to shake - mostly likely from the blood loss, but Kylo Ren wasn’t foolish. He remembered the nightmares that carried in his childhood: the sand dragons that lay in wait. 

How long did he have before sunset? Not long enough. 

* * *

Her supply pack had everything she needed: ration packs, water reclaimer, even a spare thermo blanket. But no fire. Nothing to start a fire. Rey tossed the pack the side and crossed her arms as she paced across the cave. A chill rose up her arms. And the suns were not even fully set. 

“Well this is great. I’m stuck on who knows where and I can’t make a fire because there is no wood on this Force forsaken planet. Not to mention I’ll freeze to death before the suns rise again just to burn me to a crisp.” And she thought Jakku was bad. Her voice echoed against the stone walls, strangely comforting. “And I don’t even know what  _ system _ this stupid planet is in!” 

She rubbed her arms, bending over to pick up the blanket when she felt the tremor in the Force. She stilled at the familiar touch on her mind, the barest hint of awareness. 

“It’s called Tatooine,” he said. 

Without even turning she shoved her hands behind her, pushing away the voice. Her eyes were closed, her face pinched shut, but she  _ knew  _ that voice and off all the people in the entire galaxy to find her on this stupid planet it had to be him. 

Her lightsaber was in her hand in an instant, it’s double silver blades illuminating the cave and Kylo Ren stood still in the opening. 

“What are you doing here?” she asked quietly.

He said nothing, but his hand was tight around his saber hilt. A new one - sleeker. No vents. It wasn’t ignited but she had no doubt what color blade would come out.

“My ship was pulled from hyperspace in the Outer Rim and I crash landed a couple miles north of here this morning,” he said evenly. His eyes never left her and she wanted nothing more than for him to look away. 

She turned slowly. The Outer Rim. That's where she was. Tatooine on the Outer Rim. How did she get out here? “What were you doing in the Outer Rim?”

“I don’t remember.”

She reached out with the Force, reaching his shields without difficulty. She swallowed against the twisting black hole at the mouth of the cave, tormented shades of red and white against a yawning black canvas. How had it been so easy to forget his shadow, his presence? There was nothing else in the Force - 

“Then why are you in my cave?” she asked. 

Kylo Ren looked away. The scar caught her gaze and a sense of pride welled in her chest. At least he would never - could never - forget her. No, she made too much of an impression on him.

“Same reason as you. Shelter.”

She took a step forward, the beam of her saber sparking against the rocks. “Then find your own cave. This one is taken.”

He stepped back - it was foolish to duel in a cave - but that was all he did. Rey narrowed her eyes. She nodded her head to the east. “There is another cave a few hundred meters that way. You can’t miss it.”

Kylo Ren took another step back, pulling his eyes from her. Rey ignored the chill on her spine. The suns were setting fast. Without another word he turned away and when Rey was confident he was far enough out, she cast out a message to his black hole.  _ Don’t come back _ .

 

* * *

She curled under the blanket, huddled against the corner of the cave. Sleep came in spurts: little sessions that drifted her away until her limbs began to shake until she woke up again. 

His blood had dripped onto the mouth of her cave. She tried not to think about how strangely pale his face was when he stood behind her. How long had he walked in the desert, wounded?  

No no no. He was not her concern. Her only concern was her own survival. That was how she survived on Jakku. She only needed to worry about herself. Anyone else was extra weight, anyone else was expendable. The only one that mattered was herself. She turned back into the cave wall, pulling the thermo blanket over her shoulders. 

Closing her eyes she tried to drift back into sleep, but she couldn’t get the scar faced man out of her mind. He was injured and weak and hadn’t even tried to fight earlier - which was weird - but he never acted according to expectations. Ever. 

She hadn’t expected him to leave her unshackled in the snow base. She hadn’t expected him to have the face of a human - a boy haunted by a short life that had seen too many things. She hadn’t expected him to offer to teach her, when he could have cast her off into a broken planet. She hadn’t expected the look in his eyes as she turned away, his face marred and charred by the blade of a lightsaber. 

That doesn’t mean she should go help him. But even in the cold, Rey couldn’t deny that she needed him. He knew the planet. He knew it’s name, maybe he would know how to get off - which pole to head towards, what animals to eat and which to avoid. 

All she knew was it’s name:  _ Tatooine _ . 

That came from him, her mind added. 

“Shut up,” she whispered. 

She closed her eyes tight, lying still on the stone. When she opened them, it was still dark: the sky lit by three tiny moons. Growling and groaning and grumbling she pulled herself up, clipping the lightsaber to her side and throwing the pack over her shoulder.

“Luke I swear if your nephew kills me while I’m trying to do something nice, I am going to haunt both of you for the rest of your lives and you won’t like it.”

Somewhere out in the galaxy, an old Jedi laughed. 


End file.
